Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average Scottish Ambulance Service response time was in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is set out in the following table:

  

Health Board
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Argyll and Clyde
9.9
10.0
10.1
10.3
10.2


Ayrshire and Arran
9.1
9.4
9.6
9.5
9.5


Borders
9.7
9.9
9.8
10.1
9.5


Dumfries and Galloway
9.5
9.4
9.2
9.5
9.7


Fife
8.6
8.7
8.6
8.7
8.5


Forth Valley
9.7
9.7
10.0
9.8
9.2


Grampian
8.7
9.4
9.1
9.4
8.3


Greater Glasgow
9.8
10.0
9.5
9.9
9.6


Highland
9.6
9.8
9.7
9.8
9.5


Lanarkshire
10.6
10.9
11.4
11.5
10.0


Lothian
8.8
8.8
8.8
9.2
8.5


Orkney
9.6
11.4
13.3
11.4
10.5


Shetland
11.6
13.7
14.2
13.8
12.2


Tayside
8.7
8.7
8.7
8.9
8.8


Western Isles
10.4
11.1
11.2
11.2
10.5


All Scotland
9.5
9.6
9.5
9.8
9.2

Civil Service Relocation

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive from which department the costs of the relocation of Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) will be met; whether all the costs will be met from SNH’s budget, and whether any costs will be met from the budgets of Highlands and Islands Enterprise or Inverness and Nairn Enterprise.

Allan Wilson: The necessary additional costs to SNH associated with relocation will be met by increases in SNH Grant-In-Aid from resources within the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. There are no plans for any costs directly associated with the SNH relocation to be met from the budgets of Highlands and Islands Enterprise or Inverness and Nairn Enterprise.

Civil Service Relocation

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of its agreement to pay Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) staff £10,000 for relocating to the new SNH headquarters in Inverness and a further £10,000 for remaining in Inverness for two years, any such payment was made to Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) staff when the agency was relocated from Edinburgh to Galashiels and approximately 30 members of staff chose to, and have relocated from, Edinburgh to the Galashiels area, and, if not, whether there is any concern that payments may now be claimed by SPPA employees or by any of the 145 employees who chose not to move but may have opted to do so had such "signing on" and "staying on" fees been on offer.

Mr Andy Kerr: Scottish Public Pensions Agency staff who transferred from Edinburgh to Galashiels received the standard relocation package available to Scottish Executive main staff involved in bulk transfer moves. This does not include a relocation grant or retention grant. There are no plans to review the package currently available. Scottish Executive main staff working in business areas of the Executive due to relocate will be offered similar terms to those made available to SPPA staff when the agency moved in 2002.

  Organisations outwith Scottish Executive main staff included in Scottish Ministers relocation programme are aware that it is for each employer to decide individually what all needs to be included in a relocation package to encourage staff to move ensuring business continuity is maintained during the transition period.

Employment

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9544 by Mr Jim Wallace on the 22 July 2004, how many redundancy notices have been issued by (a) companies and (b) administrators in each year since 1999 broken down by (i) local authority and (ii) parliamentary constituency.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally.

  Information contained in the answer to question S2W-9544 on 22 July 2004 was supplied by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The DTI are not able to breakdown the Scottish figures by local authority or parliamentary constituency area.

Fisheries

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received representations from the West of Scotland Fish Producers Organisation dated 28 July 2004; if so, whether it will respond to those representations; whether it will seek a 20% increase in the west of Scotland nephrops quota, and what its position is on the figures for cod stocks produced by the "cod association" and the reasons for the reduction in the total cod catch given by the Fish Producers Organisation as detailed in its representations of 28 July.

Ross Finnie: Representations have been received by the Scottish Executive from West of Scotland Fish Producers Organisation. A full reply will be sent separately, in accordance with the normal arrangements for official replies to correspondence.

  New scientific information has been presented to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) concerning the abundance of west coast nephrops stocks. On the basis of single stock analysis, the new information suggests that a quota increase of 15% is warranted. However the current advice from ICES is presented in the context of mixed fisheries, not single stocks, and it explicitly states that managers should take the by-catch of cod into account when managing west of Scotland Nephrops fisheries.

  The Scottish Executive is committed to securing an increase in the west of Scotland Nephrops TAC, but will formulate a firm position, in consultation with stakeholders, on the appropriate level of any increase and any necessary measures for reducing the perceived cod associations, only after a response to the UK’s special request for additional advice from ICES on the West of Scotland Nephrops stocks has been received.

  On the basis of scientific advice, the reduction in cod stocks in the west of Scotland is not due solely to the warming of seas around our coasts nor is there firm evidence that the cod stocks will not recover. Advice received from ICES is that fishing effort on west of Scotland cod stocks has exceeded safe levels in every year since 1976.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has contributed to research into motor neurone disease in each of the last three years and how much it is contributing in the current year.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into healthcare needs in Scotland. The CSO is largely a response mode funder of research and this role is well advertised throughout the healthcare and academic community. The CSO has not funded any research projects in the last three years into motor neurone disease and is not currently contributing funding for research in this area. The CSO would be pleased to consider proposals for research on motor neurone disease which would be subject to the usual peer and committee review.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hydrotherapy pools are available in each NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to my answer to question S2W-5722 on 4 February 2002. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/search_wa.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the provision of hydrotherapy for arthritis sufferers.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is for NHS boards to plan and deliver services which meet the healthcare needs of their local population, taking account of national and local priorities and the clinical and cost effectiveness of different forms of care and treatment.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-8488 and S2W-8489 by Tom McCabe and Malcolm Chisholm on 9 and 8 June 2004 respectively, how it intends to meet its commitment within Partnership for Care: Scotland's Health White Paper to ensure that, whatever the circumstances of people's lives, they have access to the right health services for their needs, given that it has no central information in respect of people who have a diagnosed communication impairment, aphasia or a specific language impairment.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our approach is based on developing services which are patient-focussed, flexible and appropriate, and meet different personal circumstances.

  The Health Department is working with NHS Education Scotland to ensure that the principles of equality and diversity are included in all pre- and post-qualifying training, including induction. This will include the communication needs of individuals.

  The Health Department is also working with the Disability Rights Commission to develop a national overview of policy development with the aim of assisting boards to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Housing

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of rent arrears has been in each local authority in each year since 1999.

Ms Margaret Curran: Levels of rent arrears for local authority tenants are shown in the following table

  Local Authority Rent Arrears (£ m) as at December of Each Year

  

Authority
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003*


Aberdeen City
2.144
2.368
2.219
2.388
2.476


Aberdeenshire 
0.514
0.819
0.734
1.432
0.710


Angus 
0.518
0.468
0.547
0.672
0.672


Argyll and Bute 
0.380
0.474
0.463
0.446
0.350


Clackmannanshire
0.567
0.724
0.408
0.979
0.842


Dumfries and Galloway 
0.852
0.474
0.954
1.183
n/a*


Dundee 
1.525
1.459
1.397
1.392
2.002


East Ayrshire 
1.948
2.667
1.548
1.028
0.693


East Dunbartonshire
1.293
0.907
0.778
0.834
0.749


East Lothian 
1.120
1.378
1.032
0.957
0.757


East Renfrewshire 
0.300
0.421
0.476
0.505
0.633


Edinburgh, City of
2.212
2.369
2.235
2.562
2.893


Eilean Siar, Comhairie nan 
0.138
0.199
0.119
0.156
0.150


Falkirk 
1.474
2.067
1.955
2.030
2.030


Fife 
3.429
3.710
3.908
2.708
2.584


Glasgow, City of 
16.875
18.731
18.335
18.974
n/a*


Highland 
1.355
1.759
1.724
1.898
1.148


Inverclyde 
2.096
2.195
2.003
1.904
2.258


Midlothian 
0.958
1.053
0.854
1.034
0.531


Moray 
0.366
0.323
0.355
0.377
0.359


North Ayrshire 
2.166
2.057
1.086
1.528
1.274


North Lanarkshire 
2.115
2.035
1.728
1.833
4.948


Orkney Islands 
0.041
0.027
0.023
0.027
0.299


Perth and Kinross 
0.294
0.281
0.295
0.257
0.453


Renfrewshire
1.918
2.065
1.656
1.289
2.499


Scottish Borders 
0.295
0.217
0.211
0.216
n/a*


Shetland Islands 
0.182
0.148
0.148
0.144
0.138


South Ayrshire 
1.740
0.768
0.798
0.863
0.693


South Lanarkshire
1.472
2.479
2.142
2.114
1.924


Stirling 
1.310
1.340
1.275
1.158
1.153


West Dunbartonshire
2.449
3.651
2.929
2.702
2.628


West Lothian 
0.799
0.727
0.859
1.104
0.743


Scotland Total
54.845
60.359
55.191
56.691
38.590*



  Note:

  *Following housing stock transfer Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Scottish Borders excluded from 2003 data.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people convicted of a sexual offence were under (a) 18 and (b) 21 when the offence occurred in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: The data on convictions held centrally does not include date of offence and so it is not possible to provide information in the form requested. The available statistics, which relate to age at date of sentence, are given in the table.

  Persons Aged Under 21 with a Charge Proved in Scottish courts for a Sexual Offence1, 1998-2002

  

 
Age at Date of Sentence


Year of Sentence
Under 18
Under 21


1998
51
147


1999
31
113


2000
35
113


2001
39
121


2002(2)
26
83



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record details of some court disposals in SCRO system.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes of robbery (a) were reported, (b) were proceeded against and (c) had a charge proved in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on crimes reported to (as opposed to recorded by) the police is not available centrally. Information on crimes of robbery recorded by the police broken down by police force area is published for each year in Table 4A of the relevant statistical bulletins "Recorded Crime in Scotland", copies of which are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 7079, 13119, 20798, 27678, 33018 and 35186).

  The available information on the number of persons proceeded against is given in the table. Statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts For Robbery1, by Police Force Area, 1998-2002

  

Police Force Area
1998
1999
2000
2001
20023


Total number proceeded against:
 
 
 
 
 


Central 
19
23
26
30
28


Dumfries and Galloway
7
13
22
22
23


Fife 
35
46
42
58
41


Grampian 
61
49
41
56
56


Lothian and Borders 
101
109
99
90
122


Northern 
13
9
2
6
7


Strathclyde 
486
539
517
460
388


Tayside 
58
60
41
42
38


Scotland
780
848
790
7662
703


Number with charge proved:
 
 
 
 
 


Central 
17
20
20
25
23


Dumfries and Galloway
6
12
17
22
19


Fife 
32
42
36
41
37


Grampian 
55
40
33
50
50


Lothian and Borders 
84
96
83
79
100


Northern 
9
9
2
6
6


Strathclyde 
389
425
403
376
344


Tayside 
35
38
29
22
30


Scotland
627
682
623
6232
609



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes a small number of cases where the force area is unknown.

  3. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record details of court disposals on SCRO.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes of assault (a) were reported, (b) were proceeded against and (c) had a charge proved in each of the last five years, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: Information on crimes reported to (as opposed to recorded by) the police is not available centrally. The available information on the number of crimes of serious assault recorded by the police and on the number of persons proceeded against is given in the tables. Statistics dealing with recorded crime and court proceedings are not directly comparable as a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime involving more than one victim, and a crime may be recorded in one year and proceedings taken in a subsequent year. Charges recorded by the police may also be altered as a result of the judicial process.

  Number of Crimes of Serious Assault1 Recorded by the Police, by Police Force Area, 1998-2003

  

Police Force Area
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003


Central
216
209
197
252
260
270


Dumfries and Galloway
78
63
64
99
122
135


Fife
89
184
278
272
284
283


Grampian
337
414
388
301
311
352


Lothian and Borders
853
874
786
740
792
704


Northern
133
152
245
215
225
198


Strathclyde
3,874
4,154
4,056
4,371
4,472
4,571


Tayside
256
273
218
223
219
170


Scotland
5,836
6,323
6,232
6,473
6,685
6,683



  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Serious Assault1,2, 1998-2002

  

Police Force Area
1998
1999
2000
2001
20024


Total number proceeded against:
 
 
 
 
 


Central 
73
88
87
83
108


Dumfries and Galloway
42
28
30
28
49


Fife 
80
76
67
98
118


Grampian 
93
117
88
76
85


Lothian and Borders 
177
195
197
224
293


Northern 
47
43
58
47
46


Strathclyde 
695
774
726
834
626


Tayside 
124
123
153
143
152


Scotland
1,331
1,444
1,4073
1,533
1,477



  

Police Force Area
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002


Number with charge proved:
 
 
 
 
 


Central 
56
63
58
52
80


Dumfries and Galloway
29
26
23
25
38


Fife 
57
55
51
70
94


Grampian 
72
90
66
62
71


Lothian and Borders 
139
135
152
167
218


Northern 
37
34
53
40
41


Strathclyde 
498
544
486
548
559


Tayside 
80
79
92
89
109


Scotland
968
1,026
9823
1,053
1,210



  Notes:

  1. Contraventions of Scottish criminal law are divided for statistical purposes into crimes and offences. The term "crime" is generally used for the more serious criminal acts; the less serious are termed "offences". An assault is classified as serious if the victim sustained an injury resulting in detention in hospital as an in-patient or any of the following injuries whether or not he was detained in hospital: fractures, concussion, internal injuries, crushing, severe cuts or lacerations or severe general shock requiring medical treatment. Incidents not satisfying this definition are classed as offences of petty assault and are not included in the tables.

  2. Where main offence.

  3. One case where the force is unknown included in total.

  4. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record court disposals on SCRO.

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many anaesthetists have been on duty for any (a) periods in excess of 24 consecutive hours, (b) weeks in excess of 58 hours in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is the responsibility of all NHSScotland employers to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the Working Time Regulations. Detailed information on the hours of work of anaesthetists is not held by the Scottish Executive.

National Health Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role anaesthetists’ log books play in NHS workload planning.

Malcolm Chisholm: Log books are kept by trainee anaesthetists as a record of the type of cases they are dealing with and the specialities in which they have had experience. It enables the junior and his/her trainer to identify any gaps in their training and are used at the annual review of the trainee’s progress. Consultant anaesthetists don’t keep log books. Trainee log books are not used in NHS workload planning.

  Through the job plan, agreed between the local employer and the consultant, within the new Consultant Contract, it is now possible to identify how many programmed activities per week each consultant is devoting to direct clinical care and supporting professional activities.

  Based on service need, it is a local decision between the employer and the individual consultant as to how the available direct clinical time is used.

National Health Service

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the Minister for Health and Community Care’s commitment made in the Parliament on 12 September 2002 to review after two years the Greater Glasgow NHS Board’s accident and emergency proposals prior to delivery, when the minister will make a statement on this matter.

Malcolm Chisholm: I am advised by NHS Greater Glasgow that the NHS Board will consider a report on the review of the assumptions that underpinned the decision on A&E services at the November 2004 Board meeting. I expect to receive a report of the Board’s conclusions and will need to consider it very carefully before making any statement.

Population

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what new steps will be taken to reverse population decline in light of the recent population forecast by the Office of National Statistics

Mr Andy Kerr: Population levels are the result of birth rates, death rates and patterns of migration. Birth rates reflect decisions which are for individuals rather than government. Where people do decide to have children the Scottish Executive is providing support through the increased resources being made available for childcare and school education, while the UK Government also has a range of measures to help families with children through the tax and benefit system. As a result of better healthcare, many more people now survive into adulthood and later life. Managed migration can play an important role in ensuring that we have a relatively stable and diverse population, with a balanced age structure. The initiative on Fresh Talent promotes such migration. Steps underway to implement this initiative include the establishment of a Relocation Advisory Service to help individuals interested in moving to Scotland to live, work and study, as well as potential employers of such people; the commitment from the Home Office to allow those graduating from Scottish institutions from summer 2005 onwards to remain for a further two years with the ability to seek employment without a work permit; work to establish scholarships and work placements for overseas students; and efforts to make the work permit system more readily understandable by employers.

Prison Service

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30051 by Mr Jim Wallace on 28 October 2002, when the relevant data will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  As part of the procurement of its contract for prisoner escort and court custody services, SPS collected data on prison-based escort volumes for the twelve month period from December 2001. These data were commercially confidential at the time they were collected but are no longer subject to that restriction. From these data and from information on SPS establishment staff and overhead costs in relation to escorts, SPS estimated that the cost to it of providing prisoner escorts in that 12 month period was about £5 million. This estimate included staff time and vehicle costs so far as they could be reliably identified. It did not include the cost to the police of escorting prisoners to court from police custody, the cost of risks associated with escort duties and the opportunity costs represented by assigning prison and police officers to escort duties.

Renewable Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of Scottish Renewables Forum funding comes (a) from it directly and (b) indirectly via Scottish Enterprise agencies and other such routes.

Lewis Macdonald: We do not provide any funding to the Scottish Renewables Forum, either directly or via the enterprise agencies.

Scottish Water

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage Scottish Water to bring forward infrastructure projects in the north and north east of Scotland.

Ross Finnie: I responded on 10 August to your letter of 28 July on the same subject. A copy of my reply has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33464).